


Signed, Sealed, Undelivered

by lookingforthestars



Category: Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: AU, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23323687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookingforthestars/pseuds/lookingforthestars
Summary: The plan is simple: drop an anonymous love letter in Chase's locker and gauge his reaction. She doesn't count on Chase catching her. What does Gert do? Panic and lie, of course.
Relationships: Chase Stein/Gertrude Yorkes
Comments: 7
Kudos: 73





	Signed, Sealed, Undelivered

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: au: you’re my closest friend, I’ve had feelings for you for a while. I was gonna leave an anonymous love note in your locker but you caught me writing it so I told you it was for another friend, now you’re trying to be supportive and set us up and I don’t know how to get out of this

Gert is singlehandedly setting women back a hundred years. At least.

Because a love letter, _seriously_? What kind of 1800s bullshit is that? And an anonymous one, too, because Gert – she of the combat boots and vivid purple hair and unstoppable mouth – is nothing but a big fat coward.

If it was anyone else, she wouldn’t even bother with the anonymous part, because this is _clearly_ written by her. But Chase is aggressively oblivious, and it would be annoying if it wasn’t so endearing.

Fuck, she hates herself.

She’s just, maybe, going a little crazy with her feelings and needs an outlet. And he’ll see the note and tell her all about it – because they’re best friends and also, see aforementioned obliviousness – and she’ll know…something? There’s a step in this plan she hasn’t fleshed out yet. But if he thinks it’s from someone specific, _wants_ it to be from them, then she’ll know he has feelings for someone else. Or no one else. The point being, not her.

Gert isn’t stupid. She knows with about ninety-nine percent certainty that Chase has never wanted anything more than friendship from her. But she’s been in love with him since…since before she was born? Is that a thing that can happen? And she knows she’ll always regret not taking her shot. It’s a really roundabout shot – like that stupid curved bullet scene in Wanted, a movie that Chase loves for no discernable reason – but still. She’s convinced there’s a way to find out his feelings without completely torpedoing their friendship. Maybe. She hopes.

She types it on her laptop first, writing draft after draft and considering just pouring soda on the keyboard to end this whole dumb journey, but she doesn’t. Eventually she comes up with something heartfelt and funny and not so sappy that she would be absolutely mortified for anyone else to read it. And then she writes it down, carefully masking her handwriting, because sending a typed letter makes her feel like a kidnapper asking for ransom or a whistleblower in a conspiracy.

Gert doesn’t mention that she’s been in love with him her entire life, because that would narrow down the candidates to Karolina and Nico, who have a very significant energy between them lately, or Alex or Molly, who…weird. _Love_ is also, like, kind of a lot in this context. She settles for saying that she likes his kindness and his intelligence, that she’s had feelings for him for a long time, and she just wanted him to know that someone thought he was special.

Gert’s a liar. She would be mortified for anyone to read this. She would be mortified for Chase to know it came from her. If she’s smart, she’ll rip this letter to shreds before she makes it anywhere near Chase’s locker and forget about her stupid plan to-.

“Hey! Whatcha doing?” Chase plops next to her on the bench, scaring the ever-loving shit out of her, and Gert is pretty sure she flies two feet in the air.

“ _Jesus_ , Chase,” she snaps, putting a hand over her chest to calm her racing heart. She’s so distracted by her near-death experience that she completely spaces on her current situation – until he grabs the paper out of her hands and _oh, oh no, fuck no_.

“What’s this?” The words are barely out of his mouth before Gert snatches it back, crumpling it in her hand and shoving it into her backpack.

“It’s none of your business, okay?” Her face must be tomato red right now because she feels like she’s on fire, and Chase frowns, seeming a little stung by her harsh tone. It’s fine, he’ll get over it. Unless…

His expression melts into a smirk, and Gert is about to commit seppuku. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a crush on someone?”

Gert honest to god cannot breathe, and not in the usual way that she can’t breathe around Chase. “I don’t?” she squeaks, thoroughly unconvincingly.

“I think that letter says otherwise.” His eyes and his voice are both so soft that if Gert was braver, she would kiss him right now. Consequences be damned. “Come on, you know you can tell me anything, okay?”

No, she can’t. Not this. Not her deepest, most terrifying secret – the one that would blow up her whole life. The one that would finally push him away.

But she can’t plead the fifth, either; that would be too suspicious. He would see it written all over her face.

“It’s not a big deal.” Gert forces out a laugh, and it almost sounds real. “I was going to give it to Max. Anonymously.”

 _Good save, Gert_. Max is a grade above them, but he’s been going to Atlas for three years, and it’s not a complete lie – Gert _did_ have a crush on him, once upon a time. The kind of crush she gets when she’s tired of the whole unrequited love schtick and starts thinking maybe she could move on. And then she doesn’t. But she’ll be depressed about that some other time.

There’s a change in Chase’s features that Gert can’t really parse, but she doesn’t have too much energy to devote to it right now because she’s trying so hard not to freak out. “That makes sense,” he says, and he’s smiling again, which Gert kind of hates. She doesn’t _want_ him to be happy about this. But Chase is a good friend, so of course, he’s going to support her. Fuck, she can’t even be mad at him, this is so frustrating. “He’s totally your type. But I think it’s dumb to give it to him anonymously.”

 _Your face is dumb_ , she almost says, because her panic is overwhelming her ability to form a quality comeback. “Why?”

“Because…” His voice drops, and his eyes seem to scan from her hair down to her collarbone before drifting back up. Gert burns underneath his gaze. “You’re amazing. There’s no way he wouldn’t feel the same way.”

A shiver races up her spine at his words and Gert inhales to control her reaction. Chase says the most amazing things, but they’re never enough – she always wants them in a different context, wants them to come from something other than a place of friendship. Which is selfish. She’s lucky to have what she has with him. She knows that. It doesn’t stop her from wanting.

Gert tears her eyes away. She really needs to get out of here, like, immediately, before she does something incredibly stupid. “Yeah, I’ll think about it,” she mumbles, hiking her backpack over her shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”

It occurs to her when she’s halfway to the building that there’s still twenty minutes left of lunch, so that was kind of weird, but Chase doesn’t say anything, doesn’t stop her. He never stops her, even when she wishes he would.

* * *

Chase doesn’t hear a single word anyone says to him for the rest of the day.

He only caught a glimpse of Gert’s letter – if he’d known what it was, he wouldn’t have been so cavalier about taking it, he thought it was a to-do list or something, Gert’s to-do lists are always incredibly detailed and kind of hilarious – but he can’t get the little he did see out of his head.

There’s a pretty terrible sensation in his chest, like a badger trying to claw its way out (he’s bad at metaphors, that’s Gert’s territory). Because Gert has no idea how much he wishes she would say those words to him. That she’s had feelings for him for a long time – because he doesn’t even know how long he’s felt that way about her. As long as he can remember. It feels like forever.

He doesn’t tell her, of course, because Gert is a woman who runs away from things that make her uncomfortable and he refuses to be one of those things. She’s the most important person in the world to him, and he can’t lose her – even if that means keeping his mouth shut, letting his emotions build up and burn in his chest.

Chase realizes he made the right decision, now that he knows Gert is interested in Max. It’s not a shock, really – he doesn’t know the guy well, but if Gert had to conjure up her perfect boyfriend, he would probably look a whole lot like Max. Sometimes he overhears them talking about the news or this podcast they both love, and Chase is well aware that they have more in common than he and Gert ever will.

Is he jealous? Fuck yes. He’s been fantasizing about punching Max all day long. But. What he wants, more than that, more than anything, is for Gert to be happy. If that’s not with him, he’s not the kind of possessive asshole who will ruin her chance with someone else.

And maybe…maybe this will be good for him. Maybe seeing Gert in a solid relationship with another guy will be the thing that finally helps him let go. She’s dated around before, nothing serious, but as long as she’s single and spending all of her time with him, it’s too easy to hope.

He’s determined to be selfless about this, which is why when he runs into Max in the hallway, Chase ignores his more violent impulses and pulls him to the side. “Hey. Uh…we’re watching a movie at my house Friday night, and Gert mentioned that I should invite you. Interested?”

Max looks a little less confused at the mention of Gert’s name, and shrugs. “Sure. Sounds cool, thanks.”

They exchange numbers and Chase texts him the address. He spends the whole drive home wondering if it’s the best or worst idea he’s ever had.

* * *

What the _fuck_ was Chase thinking?

Gert almost slips and eats shit on the Stein’s expensive rug when she sees Max sitting on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in his lap. She grabs Chase’s arm, making sure they’re out of earshot when she hisses, “What is Max doing here?”

“I invited him,” he says nonchalantly, like that explains everything. “This way you guys can hang out and it’s, like, low pressure.”

She knew he was oblivious, but this is next level. He bought her stupid lie? He _believed_ her? Christ, he’s such an idiot.

“I thought you would be happier,” Chase adds cautiously, and Gert swallows, running a hand through her hair. It doesn’t make sense for her to not want Max around when she said she liked him, and if Chase knows she made that up then she’ll have to come clean, and she just _can’t_. So she’ll play along, just for tonight. Just until she can untangle this web of bullshit she created.

“Yeah, no, this is super cool. Thank you, Chase.” He smiles, relieved, but there’s the same look in his eyes from the other day, and it bugs Gert that she can’t read it. She’s probably imagining things. Chase is fully setting her up with someone else, which tells her everything she needs to know, right? “I’m, uh, gonna go hang out.”

Max smiles when she takes the spot next to him on the couch and offers her some popcorn. Gert figures one of three things will happen: she’ll make Chase jealous (unlikely), she’ll end up actually being into Max (possible), or she’ll just spend one fun night flirting with a cute guy (almost certain). Any of those outcomes is okay. So she takes a handful of popcorn and smiles back.

* * *

He sees Gert and Max together at school all the time, so it’s not a huge surprise when they go to movie night at the Yorkes’ house the next Friday and he’s there. She gets a little weird when he asks about it, but then again, Gert is pretty terrible at talking about her feelings. That was how he knew she was seriously into Max – it had to be something intense for Gert to spill her feelings in that letter.

And Chase is happy for her. He really is. He hates everything and he wants to die, sometimes, but she smiles a lot with Max and that’s a good sign. That’s all he needs to know. As long as she’s being treated well, that’s all that matters.

He just didn’t know how _hard_ this would be.

Chase’s jealousy kicks into overdrive when Max puts an arm around Gert’s shoulder and kisses her cheek. She blushes scarlet, biting her lip to contain her smile, but it doesn’t work. Nico and Molly give him matching looks of concern, but he shakes his head.

They don’t look convinced.

* * *

“What’s wrong?”

Gert looks up from her fries, suddenly realizing that she’s been shoving her food around her plate for several minutes without taking a bite and that’s a classic cry for help. It couldn’t be more obvious that she’s not okay if there was a neon sign above her head that said _Currently in Crisis_. “It’s nothing. Sorry. My head is just somewhere else.”

“Yeah.” Max presses his lips together, looking up at her through his eyelashes. “Kinda always seems like your head is somewhere else.”

There’s no venom in his words. It’s an observation, not an attack. She doesn’t even try to argue, because he’s right, and she’s not going to gaslight him into thinking it’s in his head.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” Gert sighs, swirling a fry absentmindedly around her tray. “Max, I think you’re super cool, and I’ve had fun with you this past couple of weeks. I really wanted to try and see where this led, it’s just…”

“Your head isn’t the only thing that’s somewhere else,” he finishes. She wishes that wasn’t true. What’s wrong with her, anyway? Max is practically her perfect guy, and she _does_ like him, but that’s not enough. He reaches across the table, putting his hand over hers to still it. “I was pretty surprised when I realized Chase was trying to set us up. I always thought you guys were…you know.”

“No. I mean, I…” She shakes her head, not wanting to finish the thought. She’s never said it out loud. Saying it out loud makes it real. “But not him.”

Max raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m not sure of anything,” Gert cracks, meeting his eyes and smiling. “Except that you and I would have made a kickass couple in another life.”

* * *

Max and Gert are back to their usual tables at lunch on Monday, and Chase doesn’t see them together all day. Not that he’s like…stalking them…but he just wants to make sure Gert is okay. That’s a thing friends do, right? And he’ll always be her friend, no matter what.

Except he can’t ask her about it, because Gert seems to be actively avoiding him. He doesn’t get a second alone with her all day, so he decides he’ll give her some space and wait for her to come to him when she’s ready to talk.

He’s walking back to his car after lacrosse practice, and two things happen in quick succession: he gets a text from Nico that just says _Gert and Max broke up_ and he sees Max in the parking lot, talking to some girl with black hair and about fifteen piercings in each ear. Chase doesn’t have much time to think this through before he’s marching up to Max, shoving him hard on the shoulder to get his attention. “What the fuck, man?”

“What happened between you and Gert?” he snaps, completely ignoring the bewildered girl next to him. “She’s been acting weird all day. If you broke up with her, you’re an idiot. You have no idea what kind of person she is-.”

“She dumped me!” Max shouts to cut him off, and Chase goes quiet, struggling to process in his haze of anger. “Calm the fuck down, man. Her heart wasn’t in it and we agreed to break things off. If she’s acting weird around you, maybe _you_ should ask her why.”

“That doesn’t…that doesn’t make any sense. She was really into you. She told me. That’s why I set you up.”

“Turns out…not that into me.” He shrugs. “We good?”

“Yeah. I guess. Sorry,” Chase mutters before walking off in a daze. If Max is lying, he’s going to come back and kick his ass. But he’s pretty sure Max is telling the truth, in which case…what the fuck has been happening these past few weeks?

* * *

Today was hell.

Gert avoided Chase as best she could, which wasn’t easy. He clearly wanted to talk but she has no idea what to say. Ending things with Max was indisputably the right move – even if her brain nags her that it’s stupid to keep passing on good guys for someone who might never return her feelings – but how the hell is she supposed to explain all this to Chase?

She’s under no obligation to explain it to him, of course. She could just tell him to mind his own business. But she can already picture the crestfallen look that will come over his face and it will break her heart and she’s already hidden enough from him, already lied to him and jerked him around way too much.

Gert tells herself that she’s not shutting him out, she just needs more time, when she ignores his first three texts and two phone calls, doesn’t even listen to the messages. That proves to be a mistake when she hears a knock on the door and somehow knows exactly who it is, even before she heads downstairs and peeks through the peephole.

Dale and Stacey took Molly out for ice cream, which means Gert can’t summon her parents to run interference and ruin this conversation before it starts. She sighs, reflexively smoothing down her hair before she opens the door and steps aside to let him in.

“Are you okay?” She’s not expecting that to be the first thing he says, and her bottom lip trembles a little, and _no_ , she is not about to burst into tears right now.

“I’m fine,” Gert says quietly. “I just needed some time to process the breakup, okay?”

Chase sinks his teeth into his lip. “I almost got into a fight with Max,” he admits, and Gert’s eyes go wide. Before she can ask what the fuck he’s talking about, he adds, “You were upset, and I thought he hurt you. Did he?”

“No. It wasn’t like that at all. It just didn’t work out. You didn’t punch him, did you?”

He huffs out a laugh. “No. It didn’t get that far.” Chase sighs, shoving his hands into his pockets like he’s not sure what else to do with them. “He told me you broke up with him.”

“Yeah,” she murmurs, bracing herself for what she knows is going to come next.

Chase is right on script. “I don’t understand,” he says earnestly, dipping his head a little to meet her eyes. “Gert, I saw that letter. You were crazy into him. And then, what, you’re just not? Was he not the person you thought he was, or what? What am I not getting?”

_Everything, Chase. You’ve been missing everything since we were kids._

“I did like him. And I tried, but he could tell my heart wasn’t in it. That wasn’t fair to him. God, Chase, can we just leave it at that?”

“No, because I can tell you’re not telling me the truth, and if he did something to push you away that quickly, I’d really like to know that you’re okay-.”

“He didn’t do anything to push me away because the letter was _never for him_!” Gert practically yells, and in the silence of the entryway, it’s fucking loud. Chase is staring at her like she just admitted to being an alien, and suddenly Gert feels dizzy, like she might pass out.

“What do you mean it wasn’t for him? Why would you lie to me about that?” He sounds hurt and confused and Gert just wants to shut her eyes and ignore this conversation forever. But time doesn’t work like that, and she thinks she might be dangerously close to losing her best friend, which is exactly what she was trying to avoid in the first place.

“Because it was better than the alternative,” she says, her voice small and pathetic, and she can tell from his face that he still, _somehow_ , doesn’t understand. “Just wait here, okay?”

Gert takes the stairs too fast – god, she’s really out of shape – and she’s a little breathless by the time she hands Chase her laptop.

“Read the whole thing,” she says, still feeling like she’s going to faint as his eyes start to move over the screen. He may be uniquely oblivious, but Gert thinks he might understand this, from all the subtle emotions that flicker over his face.

Chase finishes in a few minutes – he must have read some sections twice, it’s not a long letter – and snaps the laptop closed, setting it down on the table where Dale and Stacey keep their keys. “Gert…”

“Yeah. Okay? You weren’t supposed to see it, you surprised me, and I wasn’t ready to tell you, so I lied. And I’m sorry about the lying, and about…all of it. I didn’t know you were going to set me up with Max, and I thought what the hell? Maybe this is good, maybe it’ll help me move on, so I tried, but it wasn’t right. I feel like a colossal idiot, and the last thing I wanted to do was make things weird between us, but I totally get if you need some space from me. I would do the same thing if the situations were reversed-.”

“Gert, _please_ shut up.” He has his hands on her face and his lips on hers before she even registers him moving. She gasps into his mouth, her brain working overtime to register that _Chase Stein is kissing her_ , this isn’t a dream – she doesn’t think – so she curls her fingers into his shirt, melting into it. One hand slides into her hair, keeping her in place, and fuck, at least Gert is going to die happy.

She makes an embarrassing little noise when he pulls back, his laugh airy and light. “How the hell was I supposed to know I could do that if you gave me the letter anonymously?”

“Good point, that was a stupid plan,” she pants. “I also should have given it to you, like, a million years ago. We could have been doing that this whole time?”

“Oh, for sure. Like, at least the last four years.”

Gert clutches his shirt in her fists. “Fuck, I’m so dumb.”

“Better late than never, right?” He flashes her a crooked grin, and she surges forward to kiss him again. Four years is a lot of time to make up for.


End file.
